Who Missed Me?
by Hinata28h
Summary: What if it took longer for Varian to blame the royal family for not helping his family? What if he planned for his automatons to fail and expected the king to thrown him in jail? What if… everything Varian did, is because the Separatists of Saporia made sure Rapunzel didn't come? FULL SUMMARY INSIDE.


_Alternative take for S1E16: Queen for a Day and redirections for season 2 and 3. Crossposted on tumblr and FF._

What if it took longer for Varian to blame the royal family for not helping his family? What if he planned for his automatons to fail and expected the king to thrown him in jail? What if… everything Varian did, is because the Separatists of Saporia made sure Rapunzel didn't come? It doesn't take much for Andrew to convince Varian that the princess has more important duties than to help some eccentric kid and his dad. As for Varian… friends are supposed to help one another? Why didn't she come for him… or send Cass or- or- the royal guards?

"Who missed me?"

🏵 Varian's first appearance is in **S1E2: **_What the Hair?!_

🏵 Andrew's first appearance is **S1E9:** _Under Raps_

🏵 _Queen for a Day_ is **S1E16**

🏵 _The Quest for Varian_ is **S1E19**

🏵 _The Alchemist Returns_ is **S1E20**

* * *

Varian feels… empty.

Ra- The princess can't? won't? help him. Even after promising to help with the black rocks, she just stood there watching as her guards took him away. Was her promise just an empty lie to make him- them- feel better? To pretend with a promise that things would magically be answered? Nothing Varian tried made the rocks weaker or go away. Meanwhile, Ra- the princess has some sort of connection to them. And _nobody else_ appears to be doing anything to stop the rocks and Varian couldn't just do _nothing_. Old Corona has been getting worse and after his dad had lied… After his dad…

Varian feels… scared.

An unsettling feeling of doom creeps onto his consciousness the more he walks into the blizzard. It isn't even the raging winds and freezing conditions that worry him. They're almost comforting now. A chaotic mixture of scares that leave behind confusion and loneliness. It _hurts_ with every step he makes forward because Varian wants to step back. Deep down, he knows that what he'll find ahead of him will hurt the most. H-He can't even remember the last time he's ever felt this- this- sort of terror… Not even when his inventions damaged Old Corona. No. Suddenly the world is much larger than he is. Has Corona always been this large? Has his previous comforts driven the fear away from tragedies the world can offer?

There isn't enough warmth from his coat and scarf to keep Varian from shaking. Not enough warmth to keep his heart at ease. His breath hitches and it hurts to tear up but… but… D-Dad has to be alright? Right? He has to be. Dad's always been there even if he's never understood but he- he- Varian didn't mean for-

**_This isn't right._**

Varian ignores the freezing tears that ache on his cheeks. He's terrified because _'D-Dad's not…'_ The miserable crunches the snow makes as he walks forward towards Old Corona whe- where- where-

_'Let this be a really bad nightmare.'_

"I'll be home for you, dad." Varian… promises, feeling on edge. He- He isn't Ra- the princess. Varian only needs to go home, be there for his dad, and save him. He has to figure the rocks out. While Ra- the princess is playing monarch for all of Corona for a day, the teen can at least be there for his dad. Right? Maybe- Maybe Varian will figure something out? He won't let these rocks continue to take his father away from him! He has to get his father free!

The outskirts of Old Corona aren't difficult to see, amongst the rough white blanket of snow and fog, Varian can still see the deep black tips of the rocks. Although, the way these rocks point in an accusing manner makes the boy feel more at fault. Like they know what he's done.

_'I- I can fix this. I can fix this.'_ Varian repeats to himself as he walks with both determination and fear. There's hardly anyone out in the village, shielding themselves from the angry snow but some are asking for his father. _'They don't know. They don't know. They don't know. Yet.'_ He ignores them as he rushes into his home and into his lab where-

"Dad! Dad! I'm back! Dad! Dad, the princess refused to help, but I- Dad? Oh, no. No, no. No. No! No! Dad! Daddy. No!" Varian cries out as he rushes to see his father fully encased in this, ember. Had it grown so fast? H-How long did it take for his dad to… Varian crouches down in front of the ember, crying because everything he wanted to deny, was right in front of him. "No, no, no, no. No!"

It's then that Ruddiger reveals himself and quickly eased himself into the boy's arms, trying to comfort the boy. Varian attempts to catch his breath as he feels the raccoon nuzzle into his hold. _'D-Did you try comforting dad too?'_ The teen thinks numbly, tears escaping the more he thinks of his father.

The teen is too distraught to even hear or notice there's noise coming around his lab, like there other people around. It wasn't until someone triggered one of his chain reaction systems that Varian realizes someone else is in his home. Anxious, Varian pulls a tarp over his father looking sorrowfully into the ember before rushing to wherever he heard the noise. He grabs his staff on the way out before calming for a bit. What if it was-

"Rapunzel?" Varian questions out slowly walking around the corner because whoever it is, Ruddiger did not approve. "Rapunzel is that you? I- I thought you couldn't-" He stops when he sees the intruder, or rather intruders. The teen steps back, slightly loosening the grip of his staff.

"You're not…!" Varian pauses his statement as he eyes the odd group in his home. A short elder woman dressed like she's cozy for the winter, a brown burly man with a bohemian style, an elder man dressed like a gent, and a young woman who seemed the most casual in her wear. Not exactly the most usual combination of people but then again sometimes friends are a princess, ex-cons, a lady-in-waiting, a horse, and a chameleon. He feels upset again. _'I'm sure friends don't let friends be thrown into a blizzard.'_

Not moving any closer to the group, Varian decides to be more wearie around them since Ruddiger continues to make more aggravated noises and shifting erratically on his shoulders. The group appears to be thinking about something too, judging how no one has said anything yet. They're just, looking at him with an unusual amount of grins.

"You know, it's not nice to enter someone's house without permission and frankly you're not welcomed." Varian stated, looking around at the group before peering at his raccoon. "My buddy here doesn't seem to trust you guys at all." _'Plus, I want to be alone because I have my dad to take care of.'_

The old woman takes a few steps, pulling something out of her sleeve.

"We heard of a wizard that laid ruin to this village not to long ago." She starts, revealing a wand in her grasp, holding it out towards the boy, before quickly pacing around as if to deny him the item. "Rumors of the ground shaking and erupting with buildings and foundations collapsing. The evidence is still quite visible you know."

Suddenly, the elder turns around pacing quickly towards Varian with a sickening smile on her face, her crew take this as the cue to shift their positions around the teen. Varian in response steps back, scared by this behavior, silent as she talks about his water heater incidents months ago. He almost ruined the village he loved because of oversights he made, Varian didn't like talking about it. The look his dad made after everything settled, made him feel… bad. Her voice snaps him out of his recollection.

"Now tell me, would you be that wizard?"

Varian sneers as he shoves the old woman away, waving his hand dismissively. She and her crew look at him with more unsettling smirks.

"I Do Not! Work! With Magic! I'm a man of science!" Varian corrects emphasizing each word before focusing on a new point, feeling more stressed as this conversation continues. The teen glances towards the direction of his lab. Of where his father is. His traps are further down the lab but he can't- "Wait. Destruction in a village is not… exactly a positive to look for the person who caused it… W-Why do you need…"

The locks on his lab could keep him safe, surely the village people would notice his home has been broken into? He could have Ruddiger send a message for help too. Clenching his fists, Varian chose to run for it however the young woman threw one of his home stools in front of him, effectively tripping the teen as the raccoon jumped to swipe at the woman. Varian groans at the collision before trying to make another run for it however the burly man yanked him onto his shoulder and the teen doing everything to get out.

"Sorry there, kiddo." The man apologizes like he's done nothing wrong. "We really do need your expertise."

"Let me go! Ruddiger!" Varian yells out before watching in horror as this group starts heading to his lab, the last thing he needs is some strange people finding out about his dad! W-What if they did more damage? He angrily punches down on the arm holding him down but it's frustrating to see that the man isn't bothered. "No! You guys are not allowed in my lab! Ughhh!"

Varian stops when he has to see the tarp covering his father and watch as the group begins snooping around his lab. The elder man discovers his box of make-up dyes and the younger woman laughs, the elder woman is musing herself in his alchemy notes. It's the burly man who decides to reach for the tarp and that's when Varian begins to fuss again. "**_Don't you dare_** touch that!"

The man does and it's this horrible site that leaves this group in absolute awe.

"It appears you are the wizard we're looking for."

Varian's heart sinks.

How could anyone look at his father and be amazed?

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**[A/N: **The tags and warnings may change as I develop this story. I do love angst but I hate angst for angst's sake. I prefer angst with good execution and development. I want readers to be engulfed in the scenes, emotions, and stressors of characters and not just throw a bunch of trauma or torture because whatever. So hopefully that's what I'll do.

Beware categories may change and I'll leave notes about them. Additionally, I have no intention of involving Varian in any romances or writing the sexual assault of anyone. Those themes are not for this story. Background OCs may be used to move the story forward. Enjoy.

**Group in question?**

(https):(/66).(media).(tumblr) (f4ec59afbd9eb0e0ab2c2eef01738c92)/(42997644a2e7b0d7)-(df)/(s540x810)/(b8691639171182b28fae12aadd95477bc5f6bc53).(png)  
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**Separatists of Saporia:** Clementine, Kai, Andrew*, Orville*, Juniper

*Andrew is not present in this prologue, he will be in later chapters. Orville isn't the old man's name but as of 10-28-2019, his name has not been confirmed/released. So I gave him the an old fashioned name as a substitute.**]**


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